Intel unveiled its Thunderbolt Share on May 15, 2024, promising lightning-fast PC-to-PC connections for any user with a Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 5-equipped Intel laptop.
Ben Wilson, a Senior Editor from Windows Central, got a sneak peek at this technology at Intel’s 2024 Tech Tour in Taipei, and he was decidedly impressed by what he saw. At that point, Thunderbolt Share hadn’t been released to the public yet, largely because it requires specific licensing. It wasn’t until four months later that Razer announced its Blade 18 as the first laptop to have the required certification.
For Thunderbolt 4 or 5 laptops that lack this Share certification, docking stations become a crucial workaround. I received the new SD5768T EQ Thunderbolt 4 dock from Kensington, featuring Intel’s Thunderbolt Share certification, for testing purposes. I’ll be doing a comprehensive review of this docking hardware soon, but my main focus right now was to test out the Thunderbolt Share’s performance and see where it excels.
Understanding Thunderbolt Share’s Compatibility
Thunderbolt Share is designed to be compatible with laptops that have Thunderbolt 4 and 5 ports, provided they’re running Windows 11 and have at least the Intel Graphics Driver version 0.101.4826 or later. If you regularly update Windows, you shouldn’t have any problem on this front.
The real hiccup is in the certification: Thunderbolt Share requires at least one device in the connection to be certified. So far, the Razer Blade 18, announced in September 2024, is the only laptop I’ve heard of that has that certification—if you know of others, please keep me posted.
Neither of the laptops I tested had Thunderbolt Share certification, which would have been a total roadblock for testing the software. However, Intel has extended this certification to docking station manufacturers. With Kensington’s Thunderbolt Share-certified dock, I was able to connect any two laptops with Thunderbolt 4 or 5 interfaces.
A Game-Changer in My Workspace
Once I connected my HP Spectre x360 16 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptops to the Kensington SD5768T EQ dock, all that was left was installing the Thunderbolt Share software, which took just seconds to set up.
Once activated, connecting the laptops was instantaneous. A user-friendly interface offers four primary functions:
- Control Other Computer: This feature is as straightforward as it sounds, allowing you to view and control the desktop of the other laptop in real-time with minimal latency.
- Drag & Drop Files: This presents a dual-window File Explorer setup, making file and folder transfers a breeze.
- Sync Files: Allows the selection of specific folders on each device to keep them harmonized automatically.
- Transfer Data to New Computer: Perfect for new laptop users eager to move data from an old PC to the new one, simply choose which files to transfer and let it work its magic.
The Drag & Drop tool especially stands out for its ability to handle massive data exchanges—like moving screenshots and files from test machines to a primary work PC—without the additional need for external storage devices.
The Thunderbolt 4 speeds (up to 40Gbps) make the process seamless, and I can only imagine how Thunderbolt 5 (with its 80Gbps potential) will enhance it further. Moving hundreds of images takes mere seconds, and the ability to remotely control one computer from another is so fluid that you might trick yourself into thinking it’s a single machine.
Hopes for Thunderbolt Share’s Evolution
Thunderbolt Share delivers on what it sets out to do—connectivity is fast, there’s virtually no latency, and the toolset is sleek and effective. It feels especially powerful for professionals, multitaskers, and collaborators. The ease of transferring data to a new computer could make life much easier for everyday users, too.
Looking forward, compatibility expansion tops my wish list. Sure, the docking station from Kensington allows uncertified laptops to use Thunderbolt Share, but at around $300, it’s a big investment if you’re buying it solely for this feature.
I’m uncertain what exacting standards Intel requires for laptop and dock certifications, but the process needs to speed up. The Razer Blade 18 showed that certification can be applied to existing models, so I’m hopeful that more manufacturers will step up.
While I enjoy the advantages offered by my office docking station, I’m anticipating a future where Thunderbolt Share is ubiquitous across my Intel laptops, facilitated by a simple cable—no additional hardware required.
